I’ll be honest, tea friends– rooibos still gives me pause. Every time a red rooibos tea shows up at my front door, I’m skeptical– will it taste woodsy? Will it have that distinct rooibos… tang (?) that I’m just so very not-fond of? I’m not a total anti-rooibos crusader, but I am exceptionally picky about the red teas that I’ll let into my cuppa.

When this one showed up in a recent sample package, I was… skeptical, to say the least. But lo! Chocolate? Ginger? Turmeric? Those are three of my favorite things! Would they be enough to place this offering solidly in the “win” category? The answer, I’m so pleased to say– is YES.

This herbal is perfect for turmeric lovers– both the flavor AND that omnipresent, don’t-spill-on-your-cheap-apartment-countertops-for-fear-they-will-be-yellowed-forever signature color are here in spades. Balanced by a tiny hint of ginger and cinnamon spice lingering in the background and rounded out not necessarily by saccharine sweet chocolate, but rather nutty, dark notes from the cocoa shell– this blend is a winner. I’ve been particularly loving it with just a touch of frothed coconut milk on top, no sweetner needed– in a season that is often punctuated by stress, it’s been the perfect, caffeine-free treat for both slow mornings and nightly wind-downs alike. Fellow rooibos skeptics, give this one a try!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Rooibos

Description

The perfect trifecta. When an ache or ailment comes creeping in, ginger and turmeric team up to kick it to the curb while chocolate follows closely behind to smooth everything over. With this unrivaled trio on your side, you’ll be invincible.

Hi there! I'm Mary, a 27-year-old mental health professional living with my fiancé and our quirky kitten in the Midwest! I've loved tea for as long as I can remember-- in fact, I have vivid memory of being four or five in a tea shop and being mesmerized by all the tea flavors and proclaiming that I "was going to be kind of adult who drank tea, not coffee." A stint living (and tea-drinking my way through) London and twenty-some years later, I'm still channeling that sassy four-year-old and loving my tea habit. When I'm not sipping a cuppa, you'll find me reading, doing yoga, traveling, exploring my own city, planning our wedding and experimenting with different healthful and healing foods in my kitchen.

Tis the season for all things pumpkin and spooky. I love this time of year. Being a huge fan of the horror genre, I love stealing away any time I can and enjoying a scary flick or indulging myself in the latest spooky book. And honestly, the best partner to any scary book or movie is a marvelously brewed tea possibly turned into a latte.

Cocoa Chili Pumpkin has been my go to pumpkin tea for the last couple of weeks. I can’t get enough of this tea. Typically I stay away from black flavored spicy teas. In my experience, the spices tend to burn your taste buds or the flavors are just incredibly muddy. Not with this tea.

Being one that isn’t a huge chocolate fan but a HUGE pumpkin fan, I wondered how I would feel abbot this combo and I have to say, it is delightful! Each sip starts off with this lush smooth pumpkin dark chocolate combo that mingles with the malty tone set by the black tea base. Here and there you pick up a bit of heat that does just that. Brings some heat that truly elevates the tea to a different level. The spices are blended perfectly and are not overdone by any stretch.

What draws me to this tea the most is the combination of sweet and spicy flavors. I’ve never been one that has been drawn to spicy teas in the past, but I just can’t get enough of this particular tea. I’m not sure if its the pumpkin dark chocolate combo that I can’t get enough of or if it is the heat this tea brigs. Either way, I’m going to need more of this tea soon. My bag is about gone and we still have a few more weeks until winter is officially here.

I am a late 30s something mom who loves her family, will be getting married to a wonderful guy and has 4 kids (2 mine-2 his). We have a beautiful life together and I wouldn't change a thing.
Tea is a passion that quickly turned into an obsession, very similar to my love for polka dots, the horror genre, and anything that is geeky and fun. I drink all kinds of tea and will try a tea twice to make sure I didn't bumble the first infusion.
Besides SororiTea Sisters, I'm also the blogger and genius (I use that word very loosely) behind CuppaGeek, where I review tea, books, and the horror genre.

I steeped 1tsp tea for 4 min. in one cup of water at 200-205 degrees, which produced a cup of tea with a nice dark amber color. Though there’s no berry coloring, there’s plenty of berrylike fragrance. The tea leaves themselves are attractive, with marigold and cornflower petals providing some nice color contrasts.

The berry smell blends with the black tea fragrance surprisingly well. (On a side note, I’m glad they used a high-quality black tea for this blend, as I tend to tire easily of “black tea” bases that have no actual tea flavor so that all you can taste is the flavoring.)

First sip: Not too astringent or acidic, which is nice. There is a bit of astringency, though. The berry flavor I’m finding in this tea is a bit friendlier, somehow, than most berry flavored teas I’ve tried. Perhaps a bit smoother? I’m sensing a rich, strawberry-like flavor here, and maybe a bit of raspberry as well. Maybe that’s why it’s less astringent and acidic than other berry-flavored teas that are heavy on the raspberry and blueberry. (It turns out that the strawberry-like flavor must have been from the “natural passion fruit flavors” in this tea. I guess I’m just not that familiar with passion fruit.)

It’s also not bitter at all, which I appreciate.

While the black tea flavor is present and isn’t overwhelmed by the berry flavor, it’s not super prominent either and doesn’t overwhelm the berry flavor. They exist side-by-side rather elegantly.

When I add a little sugar, it enhances the berry flavor and makes me want cream to complete the berries-and-cream effect.

When I add milk, it tastes like berries and cream just as I’d hoped. MMMMmmmm! I like it best this way. (Okay, that’s not really a surprise.)

This is a friendly, approachable berry/fruit tea, and it’s great for delivering that berries-and-cream dessert sensation without too many calories. I didn’t find it to be at all violent as suggested by the name (“Jolt”), but that’s okay because I really prefer nonviolent teas in most instances.

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel.
My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

1. I’ve never actually drank this tea hot (WHAT. I know. I promise I can still give you a good review).

2. It doesn’t actually taste like fruity pebbles, as the packaging claims. While my breakfast-cereal-loving heart is a bit dismayed by this, I can get over it for now.

I’ve talked about this before, but I’m not a huge fan of teas that make claims– detoxing, dieting, etc. While I think herbs can be healing and great supplements to living healthfully, I immediately get a little side-eye skeptical when a tea tells me it has magical powers.

But I was willing to look past it as this green tea claimed to be fruity and delightful (who can resist something that claims to be “fruity pebbles-esque”?!) regardless. I haven’t been a huge fan of green tea historically, but I do LOVE it on ice, so that’s how I’ve been drinking this one. Brewed extra-strong overnight and topped with a little fresh lemon juice, it’s light and fresh without being too grassy or overly sweet.

Notes of tropical fruit pop through, with just enough of a vegetal balance to keep it from going into saccharine territory. I may not notice any magical health benefits (or notes of breakfast cereal in this one), but this one is the perfect iced treat to sip in these almost-springlike days. And I’m guessing it’d still be pretty great alongside a bowl of Fred Flintstone’s finest.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green Tea

Description

You know the feeling of summer sunshine washing over your face? You’ll feel the same sipping on this 2008 World Tea Champion. Floral, fruity scents precede a light, sweet taste of succulent summer fruit. It’s sunshine in a tin…or a pouch!

Hi there! I'm Mary, a 27-year-old mental health professional living with my fiancé and our quirky kitten in the Midwest! I've loved tea for as long as I can remember-- in fact, I have vivid memory of being four or five in a tea shop and being mesmerized by all the tea flavors and proclaiming that I "was going to be kind of adult who drank tea, not coffee." A stint living (and tea-drinking my way through) London and twenty-some years later, I'm still channeling that sassy four-year-old and loving my tea habit. When I'm not sipping a cuppa, you'll find me reading, doing yoga, traveling, exploring my own city, planning our wedding and experimenting with different healthful and healing foods in my kitchen.

This tea is FIERCE. It’s a black tea with super-vibrant raspberry/passionfruit flavor. The tea is robust. The flavor is spiky. The flower petals are lovely.

You know how Rihanna had that red hair for a while? And it was really hot and bright and worked on her? That is this tea. It’s like Rihanna, turned into a tea. It’s a fast-paced hip-hop album of a tea.

This tea will not mince words with you and tell you that the dress works when it does not.

This tea will not pretend to like that guy you’re dating if he’s a wasteoid.

This tea will show up when you are sick with the entire boxed set of Sex and the City and a bottle of booze. For herself. She’d stay all weekend.

This tea will stand up for you.

This tea will pay for the entire check while you’re in the restaurant bathroom.

This tea is the spunky best friend we all wish we had. In liquid form.

"Hey, everybody! I'm Leah, a graphic designer from Pennsylvania, United States. I live with my husband and rescue mutt in a house with colorful walls. I love fonts, colors, animals, flowers, novels, illustration, geeking out, and -- obviously! -- tea. I've only been heavily into tea for about a year, but I've found I tend to prefer loose blended black dessert teas. I normally drink them hot western style without anything added; if I add in some vanilla almond milk or honey, I promise I'll mention it! When I'm not blogging here, I'm blogging at leahlucci.com/starling or posting to Instagram (super_starling), so come say hi!"